Active, electrically operable chassis and drive train components with independently operable actuators are making increasing in-roads into modern automobile technology, since they may be used to influence the driving behavior of a motor vehicle in a targeted fashion. A driving dynamics control system is now faced with the task of needing to divide the stabilization interventions it has calculated between one or more actuators as control specifications.
There are known from the prior art systems that, in coexistence with other systems, independently influence the driving behavior of a motor vehicle by virtue of the fact that each system operates that actuator for which it is responsible. In this case there is no integrated driving dynamics controller, but individual control systems that attempt independently of one another to attain a desired driving behavior by operating an actuator.
In the case of systems comprising a central driving dynamics controller, the prior art has disclosed rule-based division algorithms of the control specification of the driving dynamics controller. Either the division of the control specification of the driving dynamics controller between the manipulated variables of the actuators is carried out via empirically determined distribution factors or via a sequential concatenation of the individual manipulated variables. In the case of a method with empirically determined distribution factors, it is customary to determine the distribution factors in simulation studies or directly by trial series in the vehicle. A sequential concatenation also takes account of the fact that the actuators satisfy different comfort requirements. Consequently, in the case of sequential concatenation the first step is to take account of those actuators that can most comfortably implement the control requirement. If their potential is insufficient, the more uncomfortable actuators come into use.
WO 2004/101337 A1, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a driving dynamics control system for vehicles that has a signal distribution that is fed vehicle data, environmental data and data relating to the driver's wishes as input data. In this process, a plurality of subsystems that can be controlled and/or regulated and modify the dynamics of the vehicle, such as steering adjustable independently of the driver, a chassis adjustable independently of the driver, a brake adjustable independently of the driver, and a drive train adjustable independently of the driver are provided. In the case of the previously known driving dynamics control system, the data from the signal distribution are fed to a central determination unit, and the central determination unit determines a central control objective from the data of the signal distribution. The central control objective is fed to a central manipulated variable distribution or a central driving state controller that, in an interactive communication with the subsystems, drives said subsystems in such a way that the control objective is implemented by the subsystems on the vehicle. This method is, however, less suitable in the normal driving range and in the limit range in terms of driving dynamics.